Why is There a Baby Head Cemetery in Texas?

You can go visit the Baby Head Cemetery whenever you want, especially if you live in the Ark-La-Tex. The cemetery is about 6 hours from Shreveport, just north of Llano, Texas.

The site became a Texas Historic Landmark in 1991, and features a marker on the side of TX-16. There's a sign that can be seen from the road as well, that reads "BABY HEAD CEMETERY". But to see the cemetery itself, you'll have to stop in the small gravel shoulder lot to get out of your car.

What is Baby Head Cemetery? It's not exactly what it sounds like. You're not going to find a lot filled with doll-heads buried beneath the dirt. This is an actual cemetery, and the final remains of a Texas ghost town.

The Texas Historical Commission explains what Baby Head Cemetery is:

"According to local oral tradition, the name Babyhead was given to the mountain in this area in the 1850s, when a small child was killed by Indians and its remains left on the mountain. A local creek also carried the name, and a pioneer community founded in the 1870s became known as Baby Head. The oldest documented grave here is that of another child, Jodie May McKneely, who died on New Year's Day 1884. The cemetery is the last physical reminder of the Baby Head community, which once boasted numerous homes, farms, and businesses."

The remains of the town are mostly gone now, with a few structures left in the area. The biggest piece of the once vibrant Texas community is the cemetery.